A No Title Jess
by Holiday From Real
Summary: The other Jess stories are needed. Jess got married not even a year ago. And, now she finds out some very shocking things. Things that will change her life. Hey! I still suck at writing summaries!
1. The News

Title- A No Title Jess

Chapter Title- The News

Summary- The other Jess stories are needed. Jess got married not even a year ago. Hey! I still suck at writing summaries!

Disclaimer- I do not own The Outsiders

Note- This was unplanned. I had added the last chapter to "The Return of Jess" due to a threat from a friend. Now I was told that I had to write more. Since I love Jessica, I decided I would. The wonderful title "A No Title Jess" just came to me. Jess is 19, Soda's 18, I figure you can get the other ages from going by that.

I got so nervous. It hadn't even been a year since I had married Soda. I prayed the test would come back negative, and all my worries would disappear. And since when do I, Jessica Curtis, have such good luck? The only time was meeting Soda, and anything with Soda. Nope, of course it would come back positive. How would I tell Soda? How would he take it?

I walked around the room nervously playing with my hair. I bit the inside of my cheek. I thought out loud what I was going to say.

"Soda, you're going to be a father. No, Soda, you're gonna be a daddy." This was really hard. I walked back and forth biting my cheek and playing with my hair. I didn't rip it out yet, that was a good sign. I was pretty sure I was sweating.

"Soda, I'm having a baby. No, that doesn't sound right. Soda, you're gonna be a daddy." I liked that one the best. It would've been better but Steve had opened the door as I said that. He slammed the door in surprise. I jumped as I turned around. I cursed under my breath and looked at Steve. His jaw was touching the floor and his eyes were wide.

"You, uh, you heard that, huh?" He nodded.

"Steve," I whined, "How do I tell Soda?" He shrugged, he was still surprised.

I never had liked little kids. I always thought of them as snot-nosed sticky-fingered brats. Now I was getting stuck with one? I was only glad I waited until I was married. What would've happened if I got slammed with this smelly diaper without being married? And without such a great husband? I heard the door open and saw Darry, I was just aware that it had started raining. I waited for Soda to come home. I was so nervous. Steve told me to tell him just as it was and I hadn't even mentioned it to Darry.

"Soda," I said when he came in. He kissed my cheekand I grabbed his arm and led him into the bedroom.

"What is it?" he asked me. I nervously started to chew the inside of my cheek again. I hoped Steve had the common sense to keep Darry away from us.

"Um, Soda, you're, uh, you're gonna be a daddy," I said after a while. I studied his face really hard trying to see signs of anything. I wondered if he believed me.

"Really?" he asked calmly. I nodded. He looked excited and I wasn't nervous anymore. I gave him a hug.

"Who knows?" he questioned.

"Just Steve, he had walked in on me trying to figure out how to tell you."

"Do you want to let anybody else know?" We started to walk out of the room. I didn't need to answer that. Steve walked over and slapped him on the back.

"Congratulations man," he said. Darry looked at us. 'Thanks Steve,' I thought to myself and gave him a deadly look. I gulped and looked at Darry.

"I'm having a baby," I said and Two-Bit looked over to us.

"You mean, like, now?" I rolled my eyes and sighed.

"Of course now," I snapped back. How stupid do you get? I got really nervous because Darry and Ponyboy hadn't said anything. Soda must've realized this because he put his arm around my waist. I felt a little more relaxed; Soda had that affect on me. Everything was quiet at dinner. I was really nervous; I couldn't hold my fork steady.

"Were you okay at dinner tonight?" Soda asked as I crawled into bed. I nodded, I was okay, and the silence was just killing me. Soda was next me and he threw an arm over me. I wondered how Ponyboy was doing without him in the room.

I never got a job after I had been fired from The Dingo. I should go get a job, so when I can take my pregnancy leave, I'll get paid. That's the perfect job, get paid to do nothing. Soda woke me up when he got out of bed to take a shower for work. I still wasn't a little comfortable with the girls that still drooled over him. The worst part is that they _knew _he was married. The whole town had found out when Sodapop Curtis, _the _Sodapop Curtis was married.

I rolled out of bed and got dressed. I brushed my hair back into a ponytail. I opened the bathroom door. Those Curtis boys don't lock any doors, it's weird. They can always tell when I'm in the bathroom because the door is locked. I washed my face and went into the kitchen to get breakfast. I pulled out the chocolate cake; (Darry made it, so it was good) and started to cook the eggs. Soda was right about liking sweet stuff. Grape jelly on eggs? No thank you, I'll stick with plain scrambled eggs. I made some bacon for Darry. I put out the bread and jelly and tomato and salt. I pulled out the chocolate milk and started some coffee.

"You're up earlier than usual," Soda said when he came into the kitchen. I handed him the plate of scrambled eggs and he sat down.

"I'm thinking of getting a job again, so I can get some money again." I put the other eggs down and grabbed my own. I sat down next to Soda and began to eat.

"You're really having a baby?" he asked me. Maybe he thought it was a dream. I nodded and grabbed the coffee pot. I drink coffee, but not black. One spoonful of sugar and some milk. One time, Soda _attempted_ to make my coffee and he put chocolate milk in it. The coffee didn't stay in my mouth to long.


	2. Uncles

Title- A No Title Jess

Chapter Title- Uncles

Disclaimer- I do not own The Outsiders

Note- For this story I've decided that Soda and Pony shared a room and when Pony got the nightmares Soda started sleeping in the same bed. Darry has his own room and then there is the parents' old room.

Soda and I were talking but I became quiet when Darry came into the kitchen. He hadn't said anything to me at all last night and I was scared. I knew he thought I was a little strange but he would always say a few things to me. The usual 'hi' or 'how are you?', but not last night. It was quiet, it was my fault. Why did I have to think out loud? I could blame it on Steve for walking in at the wrong moment and saying 'congratulations' in front of_ everyone_.

I went into the room to make the bed; I have this thing about unmade beds. I don't like them. I was ready to go out when I heard Darry and Soda talking.

"How do you suppose you'll raise this kid? You both dropped out of high school. Where do you think you'll live? You can't stay here forever. There isn't enough room for five people."

"I got my job at DX and Jessi is lookin' for one today. We can fit five people in here. Jessi and I have mom and dad's old room now, and the baby could still sleep in their room with us." Soda seemed to have this planned out. I didn't even think of this. Was I ready for the baby? The more I thought about it, the more I felt like I wasn't ready.

"I need to head to work early, so you can go to work early or wait for Steve."

"I'll wait for Steve." The front door opened and closed. I wasn't ready for this. I could hardly think I was responsible enough. I slid onto the floor and started to cry. I wasn't ready. I cried softly for a little bit, and then I wiped my eyes and got up. I went into the bathroom and looked in the mirror. You couldn't tell that I had been crying.

"Jessi, could you wake up Pony?" Soda called from the kitchen.

"Sure," I said and walked into Ponyboy's room.

"Hey, Uncle Ponyboy, wake up." I pulled up the curtains and let the light shine onto his face. He rolled over to protect his eyes from the light and pulled the blanket over his head. I grabbed the blanket off of him and swatted him with the pillow.

"Breakfast is in the kitchen," I told him. He groaned and I walked out of there. 'Uncle Ponyboy,' I laughed to myself.

"What's so funny?" Steve asked.

"Uncle Steve," I laughed. Laughing at these people becoming uncles was almost making me feel better about the baby.

"Uncle Steve," Soda repeated. He had found it almost as funny as I had.

"Hey, Uncle Ponyboy, get in here and eat breakfast!" Soda called. Ponyboy came in mumbling about something. He sat at the table and ate his eggs quietly. I didn't know how he felt about the baby. Soda was excited, Steve was happy for us, I was worried, and Darry was, well, Darry. Soda and Steve left for work, Steve works full time during the summer. It was just Ponyboy and I in the house. I don't think Pony likes me that much. I stole Soda away from him.

I walked out of the house saying 'bye' to Ponyboy. He didn't even look up from his book. I walked on the sidewalk, not sure where to go. I noticed a bunch of girls glare at me from the other side of the road. I knew what they were thinking. 'There's that lucky bitch that married Sodapop Curtis.' Nobody bothered me much. I was also the girl that almost killed Lisa. I'm kind of proud of it, but I won't tell anybody that.

I ended up getting a job at the Dairy Queen. I had the lunch shift, 11to 4, similar to my shift at The Dingo. The only difference was that I didn't have Lisa here. Her mom left with her after my dad had pulled a gun on her swearing the kid wasn't his. I think that was the only time I was actually thankful for my dad.

I remember going to the house to give Steve the wedding invitation. He intercepted it and started to make jokes about it. I wanted to kill him; he had no idea what he was talking about. I was happy when he passed away last month from a combination of lung cancer and alcohol poisoning. It served him right, smoking and drinking all the time. Plus the words he used with Steve and his actions towards me, I was glad, real glad, he was dead. Steve got the house, because I lived with Soda. The house wouldn't have fit all three of us. It was smaller than the Curtis's. It was two bedrooms and a living room/kitchen. I couldn't kick Steve out of the house that he grew up in. It didn't seem right.

I walked home and went into the bedroom. I put my pajamas on and went to bed. I was really tired. I woke up early the next morning. Soda was pushing me gently. My back hurt.

"My back hurts," I said out loud. I sat up and rubbed my eyes.

"It better, you slept on my arm last night."

"What was your arm doing underneath me? Did you talk to Pony about the baby?"

"Yeah," he said.

"What'd he say?"

"Congratulations, and that he didn't want to be called Uncle Ponyboy. It made him sound old."

"Oh," I replied laying back down. I was still slightly tired still.

"Why didn't you ask about Darry?"

"I heard you talking to Darry yesterday. I'm so nervous Soda, Darry's right."

"Don't worry, it'll be fine," he told me and kissed my forehead. Somebody knocked on the door. It was the only door that was ever knocked on, for obvious reasons.

"Darry said breakfast was ready."

"Thank you Uncle Ponyboy." Soda looked at me and I smiled.

"What?" I asked him, looking innocent. I got out of bed and went to eat breakfast. I took a shower afterwards and then got dressed. I wore something half way decent and put on a pair of Soda's old shoes. They were comfortable and worn in, plus they smelt good.


	3. Chapter 3!

Title- A No Title Jess

Chapter Title- Chapter 3!

Disclaimer- I do not own The Outsiders

"Those were my old sneakers, I wondered where they went," Soda pointed out. I nodded. They smelt good, sneaker must smell good. I know that sounds strange, but have you ever been near somebody with smelly sneakers? It disgusting, and if I was going to be near people, they have to smell good. They were comfortable, which was also good. I had a feeling I'd be waitressing.

I was wrong; they had me at the drive-through window. I couldn't argue, it meant I wouldn't have to wait on girls who thought they were better than me. I came home, ate dinner, went to sleep and that is how everyday for the rest of the month went, plus a doctor visit to make sure everything was okay. Exciting, I know it was. Darry didn't say much to me. We started the whole 'hi, how are you?' thing again, so think everything was okay.

I had to make dinner one night. Now, I'm not the best chef so I just threw some spaghetti into a pot and boiled them. It wasn't hard to make spaghetti. I grabbed a jar of sauce and poured that into a sauce pan and heated that up. I carefully poured the water out of the pot and put it on the table. I really am kind of lazy; I didn't bother to put the pasta and sauce into bowls. I didn't even have to do the dishes.

That night I ran into the bathroom around 2:00 in the morning like the three nights before it. Morning sickness sucked. I don't think anybody knew about it. If they did they would've come in, hopefully. They slept like they would never wake up in this house. Today was worse than usual. I think I spent about 2 hours in front of the toilet and I was afraid to go back to bed. I fell asleep sitting down near the toilet.

"Jessica," somebody said shaking me awake. I was so tired. Somebody sighed and helped me up. I was put back in bed and the curtains were closed. I was half asleep so I didn't notice who it was. I guessed it was Soda. I woke up around 10, in no mood to go to work. I called my boss and he seemed pretty pissed. My morning sickness turned into noon and night sickness as well.

"How are you feelin'?" Soda asked sitting on the bed next to me.

"Just peachy," I responded and rolled over onto my side so I faced him.

"I can't wait until this is over," I groaned and closed my eyes trying to get some more sleep.

"How much longer?"

"I think 6 months and half." He didn't say anything or maybe he did. I just fell asleep. My boss had called the next morning saying not to come back to work. I was fired, just because I took off once. Or maybe he found out I was pregnant and didn't want to pay my leave. I wanted to say something to him, but I didn't. I guess it was okay because now I could sit at home all day and do nothing. I started to use my pregnancy to benefit me. When ever I had to do the dishes I would always get sick. I wouldn't really get sick, but they didn't know that and they wouldn't find out.

"I haven't seen Steve in a while, where's he been?" I asked Soda after dinner in my fourth month one night.

"You're always asleep when he comes."

"Maybe he should pick better times to come." Why did I care if he came or not?

"In between his job, you sleeping and everything else, there is no time. Unless you'd like to have a nice visit with him while you're getting sick."

"Well excuse me for being pregnant," I laughed and kissed him. You really couldn't tell I was pregnant. I wasn't showing. The only things were my mood swings and the sickness which had started to slow down.

"Come down to DX tomorrow to see him," he said.

"And hurt the baby with the toxic fumes?" He knew about the thing I had with gas. It smelt horrible and made me nauseous.

"I will anyway, 'cause I love my half-brother so much."

I walked to DX the next day. It was crowded with the girls as usual. I walked inside; they had Soda working register today. I knew it was his least favorite place to be. I walked next to him and gave him a nice kiss in front of all those girls. They turned and left, probably disappointed that I came. Steve came in.

"Gee, Steve, you don't make an effort to see me anymore," I said sticking out my bottom lip.

"Just wanted to see what made all the girls leave," he said, "we should hire her to keep them away."

"I'm not working, I'm pregnant, haven't you noticed?" I said pointing to my small stomach.

"Not really," he replied. I noticed a girl who looked about 16 was still here. She looked at the three of us.

"You mean, Soda's gonna have a kid?" I nodded and got closer to Soda. She got jealous and walked off, probably to inform every single girl in the entire state. Soda has his own fan club. I wish I had a fan club. I bet every girl was hoping this marriage wouldn't last. The baby kind of made it permanent. Well, not really we could get a divorce but that would never happen.

Being pregnant was really making my life boring. Soda didn't like it when I did too much so I often spent the day on the couch watching crappy television. By the sixth month, everything was boring and I was really anxious to have this baby so my life wouldn't be so limited. I started to show slightly and some people (mainly Soda) started to wonder if I was eating enough. So, of course I went to the doctor and he said everything was okay. I was just naturally thin, he said I could probably have the baby and would not look like I had one. I didn't care what I looked like. I just wanted everybody to stop worrying about me.

I was bored (not a surprise) so I decided to go into the bedroom closet and look through some of those boxes. I didn't find anything interesting. I did find some baby bottles but I was going to buy my own. These had to be at least 15 years old, which was gross. I put everything back and decided to take a walk to DX because I just remembered we would need bottles. We also needed a cradle and other baby necessities like diapers. I went to tell Soda and try to get some money from him.

"What are you doing here? You are supposed to be relaxing!"

"Calm down Soda, I need some money so I can buy stuff for baby." He reached into his pocket and gave me some money.

"Take it easy and I think baby needs a name."

"How 'bout Steve, 'cause I'm so wonderful," Steve said. I hadn't realized he'd been there. I laughed and rolled my eyes.

"That's almost as bad as naming it like Butt face or something."


	4. Bye Bye Cigarettes

Title- A No Title Jess

Chapter Title- Bye-bye Cigarettes

Disclaimer- I do not own The Outsiders

I bought some stuff and then went home. I threw it all into the closet. I went to lie down on the bed to relax; I didn't want to fall asleep. I did of course. I'm not complaining, I really liked the sleep. I woke up when Two-Bit decided to slam the door.

"Thanks a lot," I said walking into the hall.

"Sorry," he replied.

"Are you making dinner tonight?"

"I don't know, I forgot whose turn it is," I answered him shrugging. I knew he didn't like it when I cooked as much as when Darry cooked. Of course, if it was my turn, I could always get sick. That solves that problem. It was Darry's turn anyway and he made chicken. It wasn't burnt like mine would be and it wasn't a funny color like Soda's. It was just plain old chicken, and I liked it. I ate some, more than I would have normally, but not as much as everybody else.

"Jess, you really should eat more." I sighed.

"We've been over this, I don't eat as much as you guys," I snapped and got up from the table. The guys got really silent and I went into the bedroom. I slammed the door shut and sat on the edge of the bed. I really hated them constantly worrying about me. I understand Soda worrying a lot because it's his wife and kid, but everybody else?

I felt somebody sit on the bed next to me. I knew it was Soda when he put his arm around me and kissed my cheek.

"Hey Soda," I said quietly.

"What's wrong?"

"Why is everybody worrying about me? I can understand you worrying so much but why does Steve care? Why does Two-Bit, or Pony, or any of them care?" I wasn't going to say Darry because he hasn't said anything to me about it.

"'Cause they love you." Yeah, they love me. That's why Two-Bit called me crazy, Steve had told me to go back to go back to New York, Pony doesn't even look at me and Darry doesn't even seem to notice me. I wasn't going to say this to Soda.

"If they loved me, they'd leave me alone."

"So you or the baby could get hurt? I don't think so." Maybe he had a point, or maybe I just didn't want to believe it. I sighed, I knew he was right.

"I guess you're right," I told him finally. He hugged me and went back outside. It was his turn to do the dishes. I went to the bathroom and then got into my pajamas. I slipped under the covers and hoped to sleep until the morning.

I was woken up by a scream.

"What the hell?" I asked Soda. He got out of bed and rushed to Ponyboy's room. Ponyboy was having one of his nightmares. I closed my eyes and went back to sleep.

I woke up and Soda was still in Pony's room. I went to peek on them. I felt really bad for Pony. I stole Soda away from him. Soda doesn't sleep in the same room as he does anymore. Maybe that's why he doesn't like me. He has to learn to share. Darry was already up.

"Hi," I said entering the kitchen.

"Hi," he said back, he didn't turn to look at me. I knew he thought I was irresponsible, but I was ready for this baby. At least that's what Soda said.

"Why do you think I'm irresponsible? I went to New York for that long time because I had some stuff to sort out, I had a job and the only reason I was fired was because Lisa had to have a fight. None of that was my fault. Why aren't you happy for us?" He was getting ready to answer but the door opened and shut. I went to go see who it was. Steve has bad timing.

"Just because Steve is here, it doesn't mean you can't say it. Why aren't you happy for us?"

"Never said I wasn't," he replied quickly. He put the eggs down and walked into the other room to wake up Pony and Soda.

"What was that about?" Steve asked. I shook my head. I went to go find the cigarettes that were lying around the house. I hated it when people smoked in the house, now I hated it even more. It could harm baby. Wow, Soda was right, baby needs a name. I thought of all the names I liked. I picked out two names if it were a girl and two for a boy. Veronica and Kaitlyn, and for a boy I liked Glenn and Nathan. I'd have to ask Soda later if he liked either. I liked Veronica and Glenn the best. I found a pack and broke every cigarette in the pack.

"Now why'd you do that?"

"It's not good to be smoking with the baby," I replied and grabbed the cigarette out of his mouth.

"If you're gonna smoke, do it outside," I ordered and put out the cigarette. He groaned and walked outside. I ate my eggs quietly and went to go take a shower. I got dressed and sat down on the couch. I changed the channel on Soda.

"I didn't want to watch that crappy show; I want to watch this crappy show."

"Okay, did you think of any names yet?"

"Yeah, did you?"

"No, I was going to let you pick it out." Two-Bit came in and switched the channel on me.

"HEY! I was watching that."

"Mickey's on."


	5. Maybe He Doesn't Hate Me

Title- A No Title Jess

Chapter Title- Maybe He Doesn't Hate Me

Disclaimer- I do not own The Outsiders

Note- I think you know by now about the flash backs.

He had to come _here_ to watch Mickey Mouse? I debated kicking him, but that wouldn't end well. I was trying to get these people to like me.

"Two-Bit, why do you like Mickey so much?" He didn't say anything; he had his eyes glued to the television. It was a mystery, and I didn't feel like going into it any further.

"Soda, Steve, let's go to work," Darry called from the door.

"Your shoes are at the foot of the bed," I told Soda before he could ask. He smiled and went into grab them. I kissed Soda bye and they left. Mickey ended and Two-Bit turned towards me and Pony.

"You guys wanna do somethin? Like see a movie?" Pony nodded and so did. We walked to the movie house and went in. I didn't pay attention, but decided to go do something. I knew it wasn't right to leave them, but if I told them I wanted to go somewhere they wouldn't let me.

"I gotta go to the bathroom," I told Two-Bit.

"Fine, but be quick. Soda would kill me if he knew I let you out of my sight." I laughed and walked to find the bathroom. There was some truth in my statement when I said I had to go to the bathroom. I eventually found it and walked in. There was a girl in there.

"Sodapop Curtis's wife, walking around here all alone? I'm jealous of you, so very jealous," she said. She had dirty blonde hair and brown eyes. She was leaning against the wall smoking a cigarette.

"Who isn't jealous of me?" I said cautiously. I stepped back a bit with my hand on the door.

"Soda's a good guy, you gotta be lucky," she said and pushed by me.

"What's your name?" I asked. She seemed to know Soda.

"You don't need to know," she said casually and walked out. I stared at her in wonder. Who was she? I never saw her before, I'm pretty sure I've seen all of Soda's fan club. I followed her.

"You better tell me your name," I said sternly. She looked at me from head to toe, slightly pausing at the little lump on my stomach. I placed my hand protectively over it. The last thing I needed was a fight and the baby getting hurt.

"What's yours?" she asked.

"Jessica Curtis," I said reminding her that I was married to Soda. I said it proudly too, why shouldn't I be proud? She shrugged and stepped closer to me. When was that damn movie letting out? I hopped Two-Bit or Ponyboy would come out soon. She didn't say anything, she just stared at me with those cold brown eyes of hers. Istarted to get uneasy even thoughshe was probably just another jealous fan. The movie was over and Two-Bit looked over to me.

"Trying to scare me Jess?" Two-Bit asked when he came over here. He put his hand on my shoulder looking at the girl. Ponyboy looked at the girl, shook his head, and then walked off. I followed him and Two-Bit followed us.

"Did you guys know her?" I asked them. Ponyboy thought about it for a minute and shook his head. Two-Bit said no. They ended up walking to DX and I left. I told them I was heading to the house but I decided to go see Sara, Michelle, and Anna. Michelle and Steve used to go out, until Michelle decided she was loosing interest in him. She sent Anna on her dates and refused to talk to him on the phone. Steve found out after I _accidentally_ let it slip. I didn't think it was right they did that to him. They talked to me, sometimes. They didn't know I was pregnant.

Sara's uncle answered the door and told me they were out. Where could they possibly go? There was no where to go. The only reason I was still in this state was because Soda wanted to stay here. If it was up to me we'd be out of here, somewhere interesting. I walked around for a little bit more before deciding to go see the guys at DX.

"Hey Jessica," the guy at the register said. I smiled at him.

"Where's Steve and Soda?"

"They got off early today," he replied.

"Oh, okay, thanks, bye," I told him and walked home. I was in so much trouble. Soda was going to be mad when he found out I was out of the house without anybody watching me. One time, shortly after the wedding, I met a bunch of not so happy, jealous girls.

_Flashback_

_Jessica walked down the road to DX to see Soda. A bunch of girls looked at her. Jealousy ran through every bone in their bodies. What did she have that they didn't? Why did he like her and not them?_

_"Look, its Mrs. Sodapop Curtis," one said to the others pointing at Jessica. Jessica stopped and walked across the street to them._

_"Do you have a problem with me?" she asked curiously. One of the girls stepped forward._

_"What the hell do you have that I don't?" she asked through gritted teeth. Jessica took a step back realizing how jealous these girls really were. There were two that were bigger than her. One of them slapped her across the face and Jessica stared dumfounded. She fought back but there were too many of them. They walked away when she fell to the ground._

_Jessica pulled herself up and held onto the fence while she walked. She finally found a bench and sat down on it, waiting for somebody to come along._

Soda wasn't too happy when he found out and he didn't like it when I went out alone. I stayed inside or went out with Two-Bit or something. Maybe Two-Bit didn't hate me; maybe he hated having to watch me. I was only a year younger than him. I walked home and opened the door nervously.

"Jessica," Soda said. He looked like he was ready to go out.

"I was just going to look for you." He was worried.

"I'm fine," I told him and kissed him. Ponyboy looked at me with such jealousy. The poor kid, I couldn't help but feel bad for him.

"Your next day off, I want you to spend it with Ponyboy," I told him looking straight in the eye. He nodded and kissed me back. I walked over to the couch in between Two-Bit and Steve.

"Mickey _again_?"


	6. Surprise

Title- A No Title Jess

Chapter Title- Surprise!

Disclaimer- I do not own The Outsiders

Note- Some time _may _have passed. Okay, it did. I am like the only one in my area that had a black out last night! Two hours, the worst part was that I had this chapter written, and the computer shut off and it wasn't saved. I had to rewrite this! Grr...

"Soda!" I screamed sitting up in the bed. He looked at me with wide eyes. I was panting and sweating.

"Are you okay?" He asked. I shook my head and he got out of the bed.

"The baby," I said and screamed again. This was the _most_ pain I'd ever been in. I must've waken up everybody in the house because soonPony and Darrywere in the door way. Soda helped me out of bed and Darry went to start the car. We were on the way to the hospital and I was going to a room.

I don't remember a lot, just a lot of screaming and pain. Soon, they were handing me a baby, a little, 3 weeks early baby. So what if she was early? She was _my_ baby. But, wait, she handed me _another _baby? There must be a mistake; I didn't have a big enough stomach for twins.

"Mrs. Curtis, hello, do you have a name for your babies?" I looked at the nurse, then at the babies, a boy and a girl. Couldn't she tell I was in the middle of something? No, she couldn't. I smiled and thought about it.

"Um, Veronica Lynn Curtis and, um, Nathaniel David Curtis," I told her finally. Where was Soda? I saw him coming in and I smiled at him. The nurse had taken away Veronica and Nathaniel.

"Hey," I said.

"What's the baby's name?" he asked.

"Veronica and Nathaniel," I told him. His mouth kind of opened and his eyes got big.

"T, twins?" he asked. I nodded. How were we supposed to afford two babies? One was going to be hard enough. I kept thinking there has _got _to be some mistake. I didn't have twins in me. But, they were kind of small. He hugged me and then went out. He was probably going to tell Darry and Pony. Soon he came back in with four other people. Why were Two-Bit and Steve there? I have no idea.

"Gee, Jess, can't you wait until a normal time to have your baby?" Two-Bit asked.

"Babies," I corrected him.

"I couldn't wait. It is impossible for you to experience the pain I did."

"W, wait, did you say _babies_?" I nodded.

"Twins," I said, "Veronica and Nathaniel." The room got really quiet. Ponyboy yawned, what time was it? I looked up to see the clock. 3:30 in the morning, it _was_ early.

"You guys should go back to your homes and get some sleep. I'll be fine." I fell asleep, having twins was hard work.

They woke me up around 10 when I had visitors.

"Sodapop Curtis, you better get back to work! We need all the money we can get," I told him sternly.

"I was just checkin' up on you." I smiled. He kissed me and then went back to work. Two-Bit was here.

"So, Two-Bit, did you see the babies?" I asked him. He looked at me and shook his head.

"Go see them, Uncle Two-Bit."

"I'm not related to you or Soda."

"Close enough; now go to see my babies." He turned away. I just wanted to be alone. I leaned back on my pillow and flipped through channels. All that was on were re-runs of the same old crappy television that I had been watching the past 8 months and a half, or something like that.

The nurse brought in Veronica and Nathaniel and said Two-Bit left. With their eyes closed and just the onesie on, they looked identical. I held Veronica and admired her tiny fingers. They were so tiny and soft. I held Nathaniel next, he had the same fingers. They looked so innocent; I couldn't believe they were mine. Wait, I never liked kids. I guess this was different because they were mine. I might've loved these two more than I loved Soda, of course I would never say that to his face.

I thought about how long it was to say Veronica and Nathaniel. Why did I have to pick such long names? How could Veronica be made shorter? There was Vera, but that was odd. I liked Ronnie, or Ron, which ever I felt like calling her. I liked Nate for Nathaniel; I had that in mind when I thought of the name. Nate and Ronnie, they looked so cute. The nurse took them away again. I picked up the phone and dialed Sara's number. I'd have to tell her I had twins. She was the only one out of that group that knew I was pregnant, and that cared.

Sara was so excited that she ran right over. I could hear her fighting with the nurse to let her in. The nurse only let in Two-Bit because he had been there with Soda that night. Finally, Sara came in. She looked a lot different. She had cut her hair short and dyed it. She hated being blonde, I never found out why. She made it seem like such a touchy subject. When I asked her why she dyed it she snapped at me. She told me they looked adorable and that if I ever needed any help to call her. I trusted her, so I probably would.

I asked the nurse if she was sure the twins were mine, only for about the 15th time. She said they were and to not ask her about it again. Twins, it was such a surprise. I'm pretty sure I would have a _fun _time trying to take care of them.


	7. Oh My God

Title- A No Title Jess

Chapter Title- Oh. My. God.

Disclaimer- I do not own The Outsiders

After work, Soda came to see me. He was going to spend all of his free time in the hospital. I knew it. He was just making sure I was okay. I had to tell him I was fine every five seconds. Finally, I got him to go see the twins. He liked the nicknames Ronnie and Nate.

I was relieved when I was finally able to go home. Of course, the doctor said not to do a lot. That obviously meant I would be lying down in bed all day. There was a single cradle in the room; we'd have to get another one. I was holding Nate while Ronnie was in the cradle. Soda went to go get something. He came back with another cradle and I put Nate down in it. Soda put his arm around my waist and I smiled.

"They're so tiny," I whispered hoping not to wake one up. I knew that if one woke up, it would start to cry, waking up its sibling.

The rest of the month went by so fast. I forced Soda to sleep with Ponyboy because the twins were nocturnal. Now I understand why they have maternity leave, so the mothers can sleep during the day. Fathers don't get the leave, which sucks. Soda was going to lose his sleep and probably screw up at work. This was why I had him start sleeping with Ponyboy again.

Feeding them wasn't bad, no; the worst part was the diapers. Oh, god, don't get me started on the diapers. Nobody else wanted to do it, I didn't either, but they were my responsibility. I could have Soda do it but he had to work and he was always so tired when he came home. I felt bad telling him to do something when he was so wiped out.

Two-Bit bought the twins Mickey and Minnie stuffed toys. He was trying to get me to have them watch Mickey while they weren't sleeping. I think if he asked me one more time I would have had to have smacked him.

Being home alone used to bore me. With twins, nothing is ever boring, ever. It can't be, there is always something to do.

One day, I was washing dishes. Yes, I was washing dishes, only because we needed something to eat off of and the pile in the sink had become too tall. I heard Soda come in.

"Hey Soda," I called. He came into the kitchen and sat down on a chair.

"What's wrong?" I asked. He was too quiet, and he looked upset. He just shook his head, sort of saying nothing is wrong. I put away the dish and grabbed a bottle to go feed the now crying baby. I heard Steve come in and he and Soda started to talk in low voices. I couldn't hear what they were saying. I quietly put the baby down and walked into the kitchen. They stopped talking.

"What is it?" I demanded. I needed to know. Steve got up and went into the bedroom to see the twins. It left the rest of the house empty, except for me and Soda.

"Jessica," Soda said softly. Okay, something was up. He _never _called me Jessica.

"What is it?" I asked, nervously. I grabbed another plate and started to scrub at it. Giving my hands something to do.

"Jessica, I got my draft notice." The plate slipped out of my hands and cracked. I turned around and looked at him. He was serious. I grabbed another plate and just stared at him.

"A, are you joking?" I asked. He shook his head 'no'.

"Damn it!" I screamed and threw the plate against the wall. Tears poured down my face and I just wanted to wake up from the nightmare I was currently living. I threw open the bedroom door and looked at Steve.

"Could you leave, NOW?" I yelled at him. I didn't want anybody to get hurt. I was a little pissed. Okay, a little pissed was putting it lightly. I was going to _kill_ somebody. He looked at me a little shocked and walked out of the house.

"It's not FAIR!" I screamed.

Soda came into the room and tried to comfort me, but I pushed away.

"It's not fucking fair! Don't they know you have a wife and kids? They're only babies, they need you!" I punched the bedroom wall, making my knuckles bleed. I finally let Soda pull me into a hug and I cried.

"You can't go. I won't let you," I said between sobs.

"I have to go, it's a law." I pulled out of his hug and walked back into the kitchen. I had the sudden urge to break things. I started to yell.

"YOU CAN'T GO! I WON'T LET YOU! IT'S NOT FAIR! WHAT DOES EVERYBODY HAVE AGAINST ME?" I threw everything I could get my hands on. I broke a few more plates, some cups, and a window. They babies started to scream their heads off and I was yelling as tears poured down my face. The door opened and Darry looked at me, then at Soda.

"You just told her?" _Just _told me? How long had he known? How long had everybody known?

"YOU _JUST _TOLD ME? HOW LONG HAS EVERYBODY KNOWN? HOW COME THEY KNEW FIRST? HOW COME NOBODY SAID ANYTHING?" I was yelling as loud as I could now. I'm pretty sure the neighbors were going to call the fuzz. I grabbed another cup and chucked it into the living room. I ended up break the lamp and the cup. I broke 5 plates, 3 cups, a window, and now a lamp. I hated being mad at Soda, but it wasn't right. I should've found out first.

Soda grabbed me tightly. I tried to get away but I couldn't.

"Jessi, calm down."

"DON'T CALL ME JESSI!" I yelled at him. He tightened his grip around me as I started to fidget.

"Jessica, Jess, whatever, just calm down. I don't wanna go, but I need to. You need to calm down." I turned to face him. I buried my face in his chest and started to cry. I stopped screaming, but I was just crying. My body was shaking and I couldn't control it.

Once all the noise had stopped, the twins stopped crying. Thank god, I was getting a bad head ache. I took a few aspirin and tried to go to sleep. I couldn't, I was too worried. I needed to be in the same room as Soda right now. I walked into Ponyboy's room and saw Soda sleeping on the bed next to Pony. I crawled next to Soda and closed my eyes.

"Jess, is that you?"

"Yeah," I said half asleep. He wrapped his arm around me and I fell asleep.

* * *

Something tells me that the 3 of them on the bed would be just a _little _bit uncomfortable 


	8. Something To Say No

Title- A No Title Jess

Chapter Title- Something to Say No

Disclaimer- I do now own The Outsiders

I was going through every single piece of paper in the Curtis house, trying to find something that could prevent Soda from going to war. I wasn't going to let him. I knew there _had _to be _something_. All I wanted was something that said 'ha, he can't go to war' and I was going to find it.

I finished destroying our bedroom, I even put everything back. I didn't want to touch Darry's room and get in trouble. So, I moved to Pony's room, looking for anything. Nothing in particular, just something to say no. I looked through his desk drawers, knowing he probably wouldn't have anything. Although, he might. Soda _did _share a room with him for a bit. I found a bunch of papers that were clipped together. It was an English assignment that Ponyboy did a few months before I came here. On the top, in red pen, there was a 'C'. Darry must've been pissed off when Pony brought home that 'C'. I skimmed the pages trying to find that something, maybe Pony knew something and he wrote about it.

The assignment was a whole story about how Johnny and Dally died. I grabbed it and put the rest of the room back to how it was. I made sure the house was empty, it was. I sat on the bed and began to read the entire thing. Wow, Ponyboy went through all of this? So this is how Pony got his blonde hair. It had grown out by the time I came back from New York, but when I first met him, it was hideous.

It was still early in the morning and everybody was out. Pony was at school with Two-Bit (yeah, I know, _still_) and Steve. Soda and Darry were at work and I was home with the twins. I had a good five hours before I should even worry about anybody coming home. I read about them getting ready for the rumble. They all knew gymnastics and Soda was sent to jail with Two-Bit once. Wait, what the fuck? He went to jail? He had a police record? Wow, he had a police record. Wait, didn't that mean he couldn't go to war? I didn't think you could go to war if you had a police record.

I didn't need to finish reading the stupid paper, but I wanted to. I can't believe Dally pulled a stunt like that, I can't believe Dally was shot by the cops because he carried an unloaded gun. Damn, I always knew the guy was stupid. I finished the paper and neatly put it back into his desk. I'd have to ask Soda about the whole police record. I don't know how he only got a 'C' on this. It was really well written. I would've given it an 'A'.

I went into the kitchen to grab two bottles for the twins. I fed them and changed them. I noticed Ronnie cried a lot more than Nate. Nate was really quiet, actually he rarely cried. I only checked on him when Ronnie started to cry. Sometimes, she cried when he needed a diaper change or to be fed. I knew because once I fed him or changed him, she stopped crying. I always checked Nate first because of this.

Two-Bit came in with Steve and Pony.

"Don't even think about asking," I told him. He hasn't asked if the twins could watch Mickey in a long time. The last time he did, I punched him in the stomach. He learned his lesson.

"Hey, Two-Bit, is it true that you and Soda went to jail for 'disturbing the public'?" I asked him. He looked like he was thinking and then burst into laughter.

"Was that the time we were flippin' and walkin' on or hands?" he asked. I nodded. He started to laugh harder.

"Does that go on your police record?" He nodded. My eyes lit up and I smiled.

"Yes," I screamed really loud. I woke up Ronnie because she started crying.

"Your saying yes because your husband's got a police record?" I nodded quickly and walked happily into the bedroom. I shushed Ronnie and rocked her back to sleep.

"Why's that a good thing?" Steve wanted to know.

"Because," I began, "if he has a police record, he can't go to war." I sounded really excited. Ponyboy looked a little relieved. I knew he was worried about his brother going to fight.

When Soda came home he kissed my cheek.

"I have good news," I told him. I could barely contain myself.

"What is it?" he asked, I knew he wanted to know.

"Well, you have a police record," I told him. He looked like he was thinking '_how the hell is this good news_?' He was confused, and so was Darry, who had just walked in.

"People with police records can't go to fight in wars," I said.

"Wow," was all he managed to say.

"But, how do you know about my police record?" 'Maybe if you told me about it, I wouldn't have had to look through Pony's stuff,' I thought.

"I did some research, oh, and I asked Two-Bit," I told him jerking my thumb in his direction. I gave Soda a hug and kissed him. He wasn't going to have to leave me.

"Do you people _want _another kid?" Two-Bit asked.

"Shut up," I told Two-Bit.

"You're jealous 'cause nobody _wants _to kiss you." I replied. I grinned. I went into the bedroom to check on the twins. Ronnie was sleeping peacefully and Nate was staring off into space. He was still breathing, thank god. What would I do if one of them died? I picked him up and brought him into the living room. Two-Bit was watching Mickey Mouse.

"Here, he can watch Mickey with you," I said handing Nate carefully to him. Two-Bit held him, carefully, but he also made sure he was staring at the television. As long as Two-Bit didn't corrupt my kids, I was fine.

"Hate to tell ya, but I hardly believe disturbing the peace once is gonna keep Soda here," Darry said. Leave it to Darry to make me upset again.

"Shut up, Dar, she's lettin' the kid watch Mickey," Two-Bit responded. I took Nate away from him and smacked him on the head.

"Not anymore," I told him. I took Nate to change his diaper and put him back in the cradle.

"You guys really think that's not enough to keep him here?" I asked them from the bedroom.

"Not a chance," Steve called. I sat down on the bed and grabbed a pillow. I wrapped my arms around it and sighed. Why did I always get my hopes up like this?


	9. GoodByes

Title- A No Title Jess

Chapter Title- Good-Byes

Disclaimer- I do not own The Outsiders

Well, they were right. It wasn't enough to keep Soda here with me. Of course, what had I expected? I am Jessica Curtis, one of the most unluckiest people on the planet. I did everything in my power to keep him here. I cried, I yelled, I stomped my feet, but it wasn't going to work. They didn't care what I did. They were taking Soda away from me.

So, there we were. I had to say good-bye to him. I held the tears back, I didn't want to say good-bye or cry. I felt the tears sting my eyes. 'I'm not gonna cry,' I repeated in my head. I hugged him and I didn't want to let go.

"You can't go. I won't let you go." I let the tears come out. I couldn't handle it. I just wanted to die. I didn't want to go on.

"I need to, I'll be home as soon as I can," he told me. We kissed; I didn't even know how I was breathing.

"You gotta write to me, I'll write to you. I swear I'll tell you everythin' about the twins." He nodded.

"Bye Jessi," he said. He gave me another hug and kiss.

"I love you," I told him. I wiped away the tears that pouring silently from my eyes. They were quickly replaced by new ones.

"I love you too," he responded. I couldn't look at him any longer. Well, just because my vision was becoming blurry. Ronnie started to cry so I went to go see what the problem was. I checked Nate first. He needed a diaper change. So did Ronnie, I changed them both.

I had heard somebody following me, but I didn't think anything of it. Once in a while they just made sure I was okay. I almost dropped Ronnie one night because I was so upset.

"Jessi, I'm really gonna miss you," Soda said. He pulled me into another hug. He kissed me again.

"Bye," he told me after letting go of me.

"See ya," I wasn't going to say good-bye. Good-bye made it seem like I would _never _see him again. He walked out of the bedroom and I went onto the bed. I rolled onto my stomach and pulled the covers over my head. I didn't really sleep. I could hear the Ronnie cry once in a while. Finally, somebody came in. I heard the cradles being moved out of the room. I don't know how long I spent under the covers, but it was a long time. I only came out when it was dark, only to use the bathroom.

One day, I was half-asleep when I felt somebody climb on the mattress. The person pulled the covers off of me.

"You better get the hell outta bed," a girl's voice said. I rolled onto my back. I saw Sara staring at me.

"Why are you here?" I asked her.

"Steve called me. He said you've been like this for 5 days. You better do something; I will _not _let you waste away to nothing. So, get up and take a shower. I'm gonna make you some food. You are _really _thin. You look sick," she told me. That was the most I _ever _heard out of her mouth. She also sounded bossy, she wasn't a bossy person. She was the type of person that you could get to do _anything_.

I got up and went to the bathroom. I looked in the mirror, I did look sick. I was awfully pale and abnormally skinny. My hair was greasy, but that's because I hadn't showered in 5 days. I got into the shower then I came out. I got dressed in some clothes. Sara was an _amazing _cook. I could eat forever on her food, and I don't like to eat.

"You know that boy of yours? He doesn't cry, what's with that?"

"I don't know, his sister cries for him. It's kind of funny. When she cries, check him first," I told her. She made sure I was doing okay and then left. I thanked her, and then I went to make sure the twins were okay.

There was nothing to do. I couldn't go to DX because _he _wouldn't be there. There wasn't a lot to do here. There never was, but I used to be able to go to DX, to see _him_. I don't want to say his name. I'm afraid of all the pain it might bring. I don't want any pain, anymore then what I was already experiencing. I told _him _that I would write, but there was nothing to write about. It was so boring here.

Wait, that's it. It's boring _here_, but, what if I go on I little vacation to get away from here. Maybe if I go somewhere else. I'd borrow Steve's car; well maybe, I'd borrow it without asking. I know that sounds like I'm going back to my kleptomaniac ways, but I'm not. I knew Steve would never let me use it. I'd write them a note and I'd take the twins. Now, where was I going to go? Well, New York was an option. I didn't want to go there because it wasn't the kind of place I'd want infants. Besides, I didn't want to run into Danielle or any of her family. I left them in an awkward way. I wrote up the note I'd leave for them.

_Hey-_

_I know you must think I'm crazy. I'm leaving with my kids. I will come back; I just needed a little break from this. Sorry I took your car Steve, I will bring it back with a full tank of gas. I won't be long and IF SODA FINDS OUT ABOUT ANY OF THIS, I WILL PERSONALLY KILL YOU._

_-Jess_

Steve drove himself to school that day, so I wasn't worrying about getting the car. He stopped by here everyday to check on me. Hey, just because I acted dead didn't mean I couldn't hear people. I got the car seats ready and put the twins in them. Steve came by and carelessly put his keys on the coffee table. I took them without anybody noticing, made sure the note was visible on my bed and quickly buckled the car seats into the car.

I got into the car and started to drive. Steve came out and looked at me, dumbstruck.

"Jessica, you better come back here with that car!" he yelled at me.

"Check my bed!" I yelled back. I drove down the road with no idea where I was going to go.


	10. Returns

Title- A No Title Jess

Chapter Title- Returns

Disclaimer- I do now own The Outsiders

It was not until I left that stupid town that I realized I should go back. All I had with me was some money. I had no extra clothing, food, diapers, bottles. I was screwed. Actually, not technically, I could still pull this off. When I say _some _money, I mean like $80, that was enough to get by for a weeks. I didn't plan to stay out much longer than that. I was nearing the state border when the baby started crying. 'Just let me get outta this state,' I thought. As soon as I did, I found a store that I could by stuff for them in and changed their diapers.

After Ronnie stopped crying, I put them back in the car and drove to a motel. It was getting dark out, I had only left in the afternoon. I wasn't really tired, but I knew the twins must be exhausted, besides, I could use a _little _rest. The motel I stopped at made me want to throw up. The room was small and smelt strongly of mildew, smoke, and alcohol. That is one hell of a smell. The paint was chipping and the carpeting was stained. I didn't even touch the bed. I demanded I recieved my money back, which I got back, and left. I didn't find another motel in that town. I went to the next town and found a better one. The smell was tolerable and the inside was decent.

I got up late the next morning, I woke to the sounds of Ronnie crying. I changed their diapers, fed them and put them back into the car. I went to a drive through so I could get myself some food. I had to get some gas, then I sat and decided where I was going to go. Actually, I decided to go to New York. I was going to fix things up with Danielle and her family and go visit my mom's grave. It was going to take me maybe two or three days, I'd better pick up the pace then. I didn't stop unless it was absoulutely necessary. I only ate at drive throughs for breakfast and dinner. The twins slept fine in their carseats, when I needed rest I pulled over. I parked at a rest stop and dozed off in the car.

Finally, after all my traveling, I got to New York. I remembered the way to her house. I got out of the car and picked up the twins. I walked to the door and knocked. Let me tell you, holding twins and knocking on the door at the same time is _not _easy. The door opened and there stood Danielle's mom. Her jaw slightly dropped when I smiled.

"My god, Jessica, is that you?" she asked. I nodded. She took Nate from me.

"Come in, come in," she said and led me inside.

"Do you mind if I take a shower?" I asked her. I must have smelt bad.

"Don't worry, go ahead, you are always welcome here." she took Ronnie from me while directing me to the bathroom.

"Danielle probably left some of her clothes here, you can go through her stuff," she told me. After my shower, I got dressed in some of Danielle's clothes. The house was completely empty except for me and Danielle's mom.

I told her what I've been doing. She was really excited when I told her I got married to a nice guy. She didn't ask why he wasn't with me, I'm glad. How was I supposed to tell her that he was at, at war? She loved the twins. She was also glad that I had come to visit and she didn't blame me for leaving.

I found out that Danielle was going to college at NYU, she still lived here, the commute wasn't that bad. Christine was going to pre-school.

Danielle was not as happy as her mother had been when she saw me. We had our share of words when nobody was listening and the door was locked. She eventually got over it, although it took her about six hours. She really liked the twins and spent a lot of her time with them.

When Christine and Danielle were at school and Danielle's mom was at work I went to visit my mom's grave. It was disgusting. The weeds were taking over and it looked like nobody had come since I had been there last. I went to get some flowers and a pair of gloves. I spent the whole day making it look all nice. I pulled the weeds out and put down some flowers.

I decided to call the gang to let them know we were okay. I waited until about 3 in the afternoon on a Saturday because I knew about the time difference. I was _not_ stupid.

"Hello?" a voice on the other end said. It was Steve, wait, shouldn't he be at work?

"Steve, it's Jess," I told him.

"Jessica, where the hell are you and when do you plan on bringing back my car?" He yelled into the phone.

"Calm down, I'm with Danielle. You're car is doing fine. I'm okay too, thank you for asking."

"Why the hell would you take my car?"

"Well, I couldn't take Darry's car, they need it. Two-Bit's brakes are always shot, and I don't have a car. Besides, didn't the old man get you that car? I am your sister," I told him. I heard him groan on the other end.

"When are you coming back?"

"Never," I said jokingly, "no, I'll probably leave tomorrow. I'll be back around Wednesday."

"Could, could ya leave tonight, like now?"

"Why?" I asked him. I started to think that something bad happened.

"Just come back," he replied not letting me know anything. I hung up, shocked and a little scared. I apologized to Danielle and her family for having to leave. They didn't seem to mind. They gave me food and some extra money for gas and things like that. I quickly said good-bye, made sure the twins were buckled up safely and drove away.

A couple of days later I arrived back home. I had gotten little sleep and barely ate. I would've been surprised if I was going even close to the speed limit. Yeah, I was driving a _little _fast. I grabbed the twins out of the car and swung open the door.

"Why the hell did you need me?" I screamed. They took Nate and Ronnie and put them in their cradles. Steve led me to the couch and had me sit down.

"Jessica," he began. Uh-oh, nothing, I mean _nothing _good ever starts with 'Jessica.'


	11. After All This I Can't Name Chapters

Title- A No Title Jess

Chapter Title- After All These Stories, I Can't Name Chapters...

Disclaimer- I do not own The Outsiders

I got up off the couch. I knew good news never started with my name. Not once, when Soda told me about the draft notice he used Jessica, when they told me about my mom, they used Jessica, and other occasions like that. Especially with the tone he was using. It was not his usual tone and I did not like it one bit.

"I really, really think you should sit down. It'll save you from falling." I did not feel like falling, so I sat back down on the couch. I looked at him. I wished he would not make this take so long. Whatever he was going to say wasn't going to change, it didn't matter how long it took him to say it.

"Spit it out already," I yelled at him. I was becoming impatient, as well as incredibly nervous.

"Calm down Jessica, there's been a, um, an accident," he said. An accident, what happened? Was everybody okay? Did this have to do with Soda? Was Soda okay? I was so afraid I started shaking.

"Don't worry, everybody's alive," he added seeing me shake. I felt slightly relieved. Yet there had been something about the way he said it that made me still worry.

"What is going on?" I asked; my voice was unsteady. I knew he was going to tell me, but I was urging him to say it faster. He said everybody was alive, that didn't mean everybody was okay.

"I'm gonna tell you, hold on, Soda, well, Soda's comin' home," he said. He didn't sound too happy. How could he not be happy? Soda was coming home. But, _why _was he coming home? What does this have to do with an accident?

"He was shot." What, did I hear him right? Soda had gotten shot? My heart sank and I closed my eyes.

"This isn't funny Steve," I told him. I was hoping he was going to tell me it was a joke, that there had been no accident and that I had come all the way back for nothing.

"It ain't a joke. He was shot in the leg. He's comin' home in a few days." He had gotten shot? Why did he have to get shot?

"Is, is he gonna be okay?" I asked. What did Soda ever do to anybody? He didn't deserve to get shot. I knew it.

"The doctors think so; he just won't be able to walk for a few weeks." He had been there a little over a month and he was already coming back. He already had gotten shot. He wouldn't be able to walk? How was he supposed to work at DX? After a while, working on the register was really going to get to him. I knew it would.

That only meant one thing; I wasn't going to let him work. I'd _make _him stay here if I had to. I would tie him up and make sure he had to stay. I guess that meant _I _would have to get a job. I was just becoming used to staying home all the time.

I could barely contain myself the day he going to come home. I was eager to see him again. I wasn't going with them. There wasn't enough room. Darry and Pony were in the truck while Steve and Two-Bit were in Steve's car. I _could _have gotten Sara to baby-sit and went with them, but I wasn't in the mood. I was feeling kind of sick. Maybe it was because I hadn't eaten much the past couple of days. I was so nervous with Soda coming back and I didn't want to stop much on the way back from New York.

I paced the floor, watched television, listened to music and I even cleaned. I just couldn't keep myself occupied. I tended to the twins every once in a while. I kept staring out the window hoping that they'd be here soon. I saw the truck pull up to the house. I dropped what I was doing (I didn't drop a baby) and ran outside. I flung open the truck's door and wrapped my arms around Soda. He looked a little shocked at first.

They had to pry me off him to get him into the house. I sat down next to him on the couch because I didn't want to lose him, _ever._

"I missed you so much," I told him. He put his arm around my shoulder.

"Yeah," Steve began to say but I gave him a look. He shut his mouth quickly. I don't know what I would've done if he would've died. I probably would've died as well. Or maybe not, that would've left the twins without anybody. I moved closer to Soda.

"I love you," I said to him. He kissed my forehead.

"I love you too, babe," he replied holding me tighter.

"So, Jessica, now that you're back, there's that whole matter of a window that needs to be replaced." I turned around and glared at Darry. He didn't have to put it _that _way. Now, Soda was going to know that I was gone. That was all I needed. I had actually forgotten about that stupid window.

"Now that you're back?" Soda asked confused. "Where did you go?"

"No where, I wasn't mentally stable while you weren't here," I answered quickly. His mouth formed an 'o' because it was a believable lie, and I hoped the subject was going to be dropped. Yeah, because I have that kind of luck.

"We wouldn't know, you were up in that fancy New York," Two-Bit added. I got up and smacked him.

"You were _supposed _to keep your trap _shut_!" I yelled at him. He started to rub his cheek that was now showing a red imprint of my hand. Had I smacked him _that _hard?

"You were in New York?" Soda asked, he sounded slightly worried.

"I was fine, Steve here let me borrow his car, I had money and I had the twins. I went to go see Danielle and fix things up from my last trip. I couldn't be here while you weren't." Ronnie cried and I went to go get her and Nate. I sat down with them on the couch and handed one to Soda.

"Yeah, I _let _you _borrow _my car."


	12. Granola Bars for there is no other title

Title- A No Title Jess

Chapter Title- Granola Bars (for there is no other title)

Disclaimer- I do not own The Outsiders

Note- I don't know how long I will make this story. I'm not sure when to end it considering I already have half another story written, but I can't put it up until I finish this. This story won't be as long as the two before it, maybe three more chapters... Yeah, three more sounds good.

"Yeah, Steve, you let me borrow your car. You should be proud, you shared," I said sarcastically. He grinned, but he wasn't going to mention I never asked for the car. Soda and I should get our own car, so we don't have to keep getting rides from Steve or Darry or Two-Bit. Or steal cars. We should also get our own place, but money was kind of tight so neither would work out for us. Yet, we _needed _our _own _place. There wasn't enough room for the twins, Soda, and I here.

"What're you thinkin' 'bout Jessi?" Soda asked me. I must've either been quiet for a while or looked like I was thinking. I was going to tell him _exactly _what I was thinking. I'm pretty sure we could get a few loans or something. I still had a little bit of money left from when I was a waitress. I never spent that money while I was earning it and I only used it if I desperately needed something. I could pay for a good portion of the car.

"I was thinking about some things we need. You know, like our own car, maybe our own house," I said softly. I didn't know what to expect.

"It's kind of cramped here, ya know? The four of us sharing a bedroom while living with Darry and Ponyboy. We can't keep asking for rides every time we wanna go somewhere." 'Or steal cars,' I thought to myself.

"Well," he said kind of hesitant.

"I have money left from bein' a waitress, maybe enough for half the car. I could get a job, Sara said she'd watch the twins cheaply," I blurted out. I don't know why I wanted my own house this bad, but I knew I could get my way.

"Please," I added. I might just have to throw in the puppy-dog eyes.

"You just sounded like a kid. I guess we could check into it." I would've hugged him, but we both happened to be holding babies, so I only kissed his cheek. I looked at Ronnie, whom Soda was holding, she was sleeping quietly. Nate was also asleep. I got up to put Nate in the cradle, and came back for Ronnie.

We didn't need a big house, two bedrooms, a kitchen, a living room, and a bathroom. We eventually found an okay house a few months later. It met my requirements: two bedrooms, a kitchen, a living room, and a bathroom, plus it didn't have a smell. Well, the kitchen and living room were joined so it was technically a kitchen/living room. It was fine with Soda because it was about half way from the old one and Steve's. It wasn't too expensive, but we were holding off on the car while we bought the house.

We didn't have a lot of stuff; the stuff we were using basically belonged to Darry. We had nothing which kind of sucked. Actually, you know what? It really sucked. It sucked just as bad as having to eat nothing but granola bars for the past few days. We had to take out a loan to buy stuff. We didn't need to buy a bed; they were nice enough to give us that. We had to buy a couch, a table and chairs. Which we did.

Sara agreed to watch the twins if I got a job. I did get a job as a cashier at the supermarket. I worked three days a week, Monday, Wednesday, and Thursday. I also got a small employee discount. The hours weren't bad; I just had to wake up kind of early. At least the twins were sleeping through the night. It wasn't bad now that they could sleep through the night in their _own _room.

"Hey Soda," I said one day after being incredibly bored.

"Can we invite some people over? Some people from, like, out of state?" When I went to New York, I Danielle and I made up from the last visit. We both agreed it was just tension from Mark's death. I really wanted Danielle to meet my family. I knew it wouldn't be too bad for them to come visit. If they lived here they'd be considered Socs. Soda said sure and I ran to the phone.

"Hello," I said after I heard somebody pick up.

"Who's this?" Danielle said on the other end.

"Dan, its Jess. Would you like to come here for a week or something? To meet my family and so I can see you again." I had been to New York twice since I moved here.

"Sure, can my mom and Christine come as well?" I don't have a problem with that.

"Yeah, the only problem is we don't have enough room for you guys in the house," I explained. She said they'd probably get a hotel room or something. They were coming next week by plane. I was about to ask about her dad when I remembered they had split up shortly after Mark's death. She hasn't seen or heard from the guy since. Well, that's what she said when I was up at New York anyway. He was the only one from that family I had a problem with. I always got along with Danielle, Mark was one of my boyfriends, Christine never bothered me, and Danielle's mom was like my second mom.

"Danielle's coming next week," I announced and went into the kitchen to find dinner. I was getting better at the whole cooking thing. We had no food in the house. Oh, that's right; I was supposed to go food shopping today.

"Uh, Soda, wanna go over to your brother's house for dinner? That is, unless you'd like granola bars."


	13. Danielle's Visit

Title- A No Title Jess

Chapter Title- Danielle's Visit

Disclaimer- I do not own The Outsiders

Note- I know in the last chapter I mentioned granola bars quite a bit. The thing is, it's the only thing that was in the house to eat for the past couple of days. No more granola bars will be mentioned, I promise.

"Danielle," I said as I answered the door. I was all alone in the house. Well, not really, the twins were there, but they don't count because I can't have a conversation with them.

"You live _here_?" she asked in disgust. I knew it wasn't as great as her house in New York, but the way she said it made me want to smack her.

"Do you wanna go see my family?" I asked her. She nodded and I went to call Sara. Sara came over to watch the twins. I finally realized Christine was standing there along with Danielle's mom.

"Well, I guess we'll go to DX, where my husband and my half-brother will be." We walked to DX and I didn't see Soda at the pump, which meant they had him working at the register and taking it easy.

"Hey Jess," Soda called when I opened the door.

"Hi, this is my friend Danielle and her mom and her little sister, Christine. Guys, this is my husband, Sodapop."

"Well, now I see why your kids are so cute," Danielle told me. Christine had started to laugh when she found out his name was really Sodapop. Steve had come in from working on a car to see what all the noise was.

"Guys, this is my half-brother Steve, Steve, this is Danielle, her mom and little sister. I decided to take them to the Dairy Queen for lunch. I didn't think Jay's was the best place for a four year old and I really didn't go into The Dingo anymore.

"Jess, your husband's good lookin' and all, but don't ya think you could've done better than that trash?" Danielle asked me. I was controlling the strong urge to smack her.

"Well, I think we used to hang out with _trash _in New York," I told her, '"or, do you not remember Dallas Winston?" Her eyes got big.

"He was different," she argued.

"Different, yeah, only because you liked him. You wouldn't be saying that about Steve or Soda if you knew them. Besides, Winston used to hang out with my family," I informed her. "Well, do you wanna meet the rest of them? I'm pretty sure I can find Pony and Two-Bit at the movies or at the house." They agreed and we found them at the Curtis house. I could tell Danielle wasn't amused by Two-Bit's jokes and she was disgusted by the house. Like I said, she'd be a Soc.

"Could we go back to your house?" she begged. I said yes, just because I didn't want to start any arguments.

"I can't believe you even compared these people to Winston, he was so much tuffer," she told me when we were inside the house and Sara left.

"You don't know them," I replied, "They were my friends before they were my family. You didn't even give them a chance! You took one look at their homes and greasy hair and decided you didn't like them."

"Jess, I didn't know you would get so offended. I'm sorry."

"They're my family, and you didn't think I would get offended?" I knew I was making a big deal out of nothing and I knew she apologized.

"I'm sorry, I hate it when we fight because we've been friends for a long time," she told me.

"I'm sorry for yelling at you." Ronnie started crying, which gave me the chance to get out of the room. I brought her and Nate out after making sure their diapers didn't need to be changed. They either wanted attention or they wanted to be fed. Christine loved playing with them on the floor.

As much as I liked Danielle, I wanted to strangle her. For that whole week she wanted to eat out, or spend as little time with the gang as possible. She wanted me to herself, I felt bad about always calling up Sara or leaving the twins with Soda when he got home from work. I remember telling her I had to go to work.

_Flashback_

_"Dan, I've gotta go to work," Jessica told Danielle._

_"You mean that you're working when your friend flew in from out of state?"_

_"Dan, I need to go to work. I need the money," Jessica answered. She walked outside. "And, I need you to baby-sit, please?" She added giving the puppy dog eyes._

_"Fine, but now you've gotta do something for me."_

_"What?" she asked slightly annoyed that she was going to be late._

_"You need to hang out with me for the rest of the week," she replied sounding a little bossy._

_"Fine," Jessica sighed and went to work._

She left her mother and sister at the hotel sometimes so she could be with me. She was kept me away from my family that whole week. I only saw Soda when she decided she was tired. Most of the time he had already put the kids to bed and he was asleep himself.

I was finally glad when she left. I think a week was a little too much. It might not have been bad if she was the Danielle I knew before my mother died. The Danielle that didn't care about money or appearance. I started to wonder why she was like that. We had finally fixed our friendship and she has to ruin it.

"That was one of the worst weeks I have ever had," I told Soda after they left.

"I'm sorry I left the kids with you."

"It's not really your fault; you were being nice to your friend."

"I won't ever do it again," I promised him. I was also promising myself. Danielle wasn't coming back here invited. She had called my family trash and didn't even bother saying good-bye to the rest of them.

"I don't know how I ever liked her, she's a bitch."


	14. Chocolate Cake

Title- A No Title Jess

Chapter Title- Chocolate Cake

Disclaimer- I do not own The Outsiders

Note- As I am writing this, tons of things are going through my mind. Last night (7/28), my brother's girlfriend of the past four years broke up with him. Being the good sister I am, I'm trying to be nice and let him use the computer more. Also, my mom decided to take away my copy of The Outsiders to try to get me to start my summer assignment. It's due the first day of school which is around the corner, September 7th. She has also shortened the time I am on the computer. So, this is like the second to last chapter. Now that I have informed you of what is going on with my oh-so interesting life, let us get on with the story.

The next few months went by very fast. I was either working or taking care of the twins. It was really strange because Nate never made any noise. No, Ronnie cried for him. Yeah, it was odd and a lot of people thought it was. We could take them to a doctor, but we needed to pay back the loans. We didn't have the money to get them checked out. Besides, it kind of sucked walking everywhere. Once we finished paying back the loans, we were going to get the car. I only had to walk to work, and it wasn't very far. Darry picked up Soda on his way to work.

Danielle had tried to call me, but I hung up on her or I ignored her and let her ramble on. I was so mad at her. Sure, she _did _apologize, but she didn't make an effort to say good-bye to the gang. Sara and I started to hang out a lot more. We became really good friends, better than Danielle and I. I never saw Michelle and Anna, they moved as soon as they hit 18. Sara says she hears from them occasionally. I was surprised Sara didn't leave, but I was glad she didn't. She was an awesome baby-sitter.

Soda got better, and if it wasn't for the scar on his leg, you'd never be able to tell. It kind of freaks me out still, the fact that a bullet went through his leg, tearing his muscle and tendon or whatever. It was hard that month when he couldn't walk. He spent the month on the couch, oh boy, I bet that was _fun_. While is muscle was getting stronger, it had bothered him to walk but we kind of forced him to.

For our first anniversary, I got really excited. Somebody decided to have a bunch of people by the names of Two-Bit, Steve, Darry, Ponyboy, and Sara chip in and buy us a car. It was a car that probably had a few owners before us, but I didn't care. It was a _car_. It had four wheels and it moved! Soda took me to dinner and then, well, you know what? That's our business.

Soon enough, the twins' first birthday snuck up on us. We planned to invite the gang and Sara; we really didn't know anybody else. I was forced to make chocolate cake by _somebody._ Surprisingly, it came out good. The frosting wasn't too sweet, but it was still sweet and the cake itself wasn't dry. Well, I might not be able to cook chicken, but I can bake a cake. It was an okay birthday, it would've been better if they didn't sleep the whole time. Or if Ronnie wasn't crying constantly.

"Hey, who made the cake?" Steve asked.

"Me," I spoke up.

"No way, _you _made this cake?"

"Steve, believe it or not, I can cook," I answered.

"'What happened to if I cook, I'll end up burning the house down' or what about all those times we came over here to eat and got burnt food?"

"I dunno, but apparently, I can make cake," I said. I was actually quite proud that I could make a good chocolate cake. I would need this skill, especially since I was living with Soda.

"What store did you buy it from?"

"Steve, I really did bake this cake. If you want me too, I'll bake another one just for you."

"Soda, did she really bake this cake?" Steve asked Soda. Soda nodded because he was in the middle of eating a very big piece of cake. I stuck my tongue out at Steve.

Soda really liked my chocolate cakes, and I think my small employee discount was spent buying cake mix. Soda probably went through one twice a week. He ate too much chocolate cake, I ate some, plus, sometimes we had the gang over.

"Do you ever want another desert? Doesn't chocolate cake get old?" I asked them one night.

"No," they answered together. I wondered what they what do if I decided _not _to buy the mix or make the cake one night. I was going to do it.

"Jessi, did you forget to make a cake?" Soda asked after searching through the ice box like five times.

"Oops, I must've, sorry," I told him. I was an okay liar; I just hoped he couldn't tell I was lying.

"That's okay, I'll just make one," he said. Wasn't it going to be funny when he opened the cabinet and there wasn't any stuff to make the cake? I stood there trying not to grin. He opened every single cabinet.

"You forgot to buy the stuff?" he asked. I smiled innocently.

"I don't know what I was thinking. Don't you think you should try to eat something else for desert?"

"You did this on purpose!" He finally realized it. He walked towards me and started to tickle me.

"Soda, stop it!" I said in between laughs. I collapsed onto the floor in a fit of giggles, but he proceeded to tickle me.

"Soda, we're gonna wake up the kids," I told him.

"You didn't make me chocolate cake," he said. He got up, crossed his arms across his chest and pouted. He helped me up and I kissed his cheek.

"The cake mix is under the bed," I told him. I hid it there, because it was the last place he would think of looking.


	15. Um, The End!

Title- A No Title Jess

Chapter Title- Um, the End!

Disclaimer- I do not own The Outsiders, and my paperback copy is being held hostage.

Note- Boo-hoo, this is the last chapter. Never fear, I have another story! Yes, it is _slightly _about Jessica, but it's told in a different point of view. I'm going to shut my mouth, and stop typing about it so I don't ruin the surprise. Another note, I'm surprised I got this up. I, being the sweet angelic person I am, gave my sister the finger last night because she was whacking me. I know, it still doesn't give me the right to give the finger to a nine year old, but whatever, she deserved it. I was surprised she didn't tattle, if she did, I wouldn't have been able to use the computer for a week. So, now, let us get on with the last chapter in the story...

I bet every parent believes that their children are _the _cutest ever. Well, I'm just like them. Veronica and Nathaniel are _the _cutest kids _ever_. They have my dark hair and Sodapop's eyes. With Soda's eyes alone, they are the cutest kids ever. If it weren't for that fact that Nate's a boy and Ronnie's a girl, I'd say they were identical.

Nate doesn't talk much. When they were four, we were going to take him to the doctor to get it checked out but Ronnie came running in. She started to say that Nate was okay and he talks to her. Why would he talk to her and not us? It confused me. Nate seemed to rely on Ronnie a lot. He had a very big fear of the dark. Ronnie and Nate shared a bed; I thought if they shared a bed, it would help Nate. After all, didn't sharing a bed with Soda help Ponyboy? Nate hated to be in large crowds, he would grab on to Ronnie's hand and squeeze the life out of it. He also hated school.

On their first day of kindergarten, I took them to their classrooms. They were put in separate classes because they were siblings. Well, I dropped them off and decided to go to work. I was there barely fifteen minutes when I got a phone call. Nate apparently was sitting in the middle of the classroom crying. Not screaming his head off crying, nom he even cries silently. I had to go back to the school and pick him up. We got him changed into Ronnie's class and they made a note to put them in the same class every year.

Ronnie got most of my personality. Especially sarcasm, by the time she was five, half the things she said were sarcastic remarks. I can't spank her for talking back; I don't think that's right. You shouldn't hit your children; people who do that should die. Or, soap in the mouth, yeah, that's just disgusting. If I used a new bar of soap, it would be covered in her germs and if I used an old bar of soap, it would be putting bacteria in her mouth. Ronnie talked for both her and Nate, and it was impossible to get her to shut up. Her other problem, she had this thing about hitting people. She loved to pick fights. No other five year old has buried a boys head in the sand for trying to hold her hand.

Nat was a fast runner, quiet, shy, afraid of being alone, and afraid of the dark. I can't say much else about him. He doesn't talk to anybody. Actually, he only talks to Ronnie, but I've never heard him. He is even quiet in his sleep. Ronnie talks, you really can't shut her up.

Sara moved eventually, so we were going to have to find another baby-sitter. It was going to be a problem with Nate. He hated to be around people he didn't know. He was fine with Sara because he grew up with her and she was fun. Nobody in the gang wanted to baby-sit; he was fine with the gang. He grew up with them as well. Ronnie liked Two-Bit a lot, she laughed at all of his jokes. I doubt she understood half of them, but she laughed anyway. He still refused to baby-sit. He did, however, help us find our baby-sitter. You'll never guess, his sister. I trusted his sister. She was seventeen and she seemed nice enough. She was capable of handling two five year olds. Ronnie was comfortable with her, therefore, Nate was.

I was still working at that store, but it wasn't bad. I was a manager now. Soda still worked at DX, but he had gotten a raise over the years. Sometimes, it's hard to believe I am 24, it feels so weird. I have many regrets about what I have done. My biggest is dropping out of school. I wish I hadn't, I could be working a better paying job now. But, hey, at least one of us Greasers was going to school. Yeah, Ponyboy was in college. I couldn't tell you where or what he was studying, I don't remember. Two-Bit and Steve graduated, but they stopped their education there. Steve started to work full time with Soda. I still can't believe those two are best friends. After all the years, I believe Soda told me he was only mad at Steve once.

"Mama, it's my birthday!" Ronnie screamed after waking up one morning. She jumped into my arms.

"What did I tell you about being loud in the morning? It's too early," I told her and hugged her. She was extremely loud. She talked a lot and she was loud.

"Sorry, I forgot," she said and grinned. They got Soda's grin and they could talk me into anything. I mean, Ronnie could talk me into everything.

"Don't forget again," I told her and kissed her forehead. I woke up Nate. He wasn't a morning person. It took a few tries to get him out of bed.

"Do you have work today?" Ronnie asked me. I nodded.

"Is Miss Mathews comin'? I like her." It was funny. They used to call Sara by her first name but they called Two-Bit's sister Miss Mathews. I laughed and nodded.

"She'll pick you guys up from school. Hurry up and eat your breakfast, I got you Frosted Flakes because I know you love them."

"Thanks mama," she told me and ran into the kitchen. I helped Nate out of bed and carried him into the kitchen.

"Nate, you're gonna be six, can't you walk into the kitchen?" He stared at me for a while. I guess he was thinking. He shook his head 'no'. I put him on the chair and poured them two bowls of cereal. Then they had to get ready for school. As always, Ronnie cried when I had to brush her hair and I hit knots. Nate did the usual routine. He would try to get out of school by hiding under the bed. Soda didn't know how the morning routine went. He was always at work before I had to wake them up and they didn't do those things on the weekends.

That night, I tucked them into bed and kissed both of their foreheads. Soda did too.

"Hope you had a good birthday," I said to them.

"We did, but mama, Nate wants to know why do we always have chocolate cake?"

**THE END**

Within the next few hours you should see another story by me. That's right; I have about 3 chapters done… Talk about caffeine rushes.


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